


Ghosts

by CloakedSparrow



Series: Thor & Loki: Brotherhood [15]
Category: Thor (Movies), Thor - All Media Types, Thor: Tales of Asgard
Genre: Brotherly Affection, Brotherly Love, Gen, Kid Loki and Kid Thor, Nightmares, Odin's Bad Parenting, Pre-Thor (2011), Protective Thor, Thor Is a Good Bro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-30
Updated: 2016-01-30
Packaged: 2018-05-17 03:39:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5852590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CloakedSparrow/pseuds/CloakedSparrow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki has night terrors and wakes in an unnatural cold. Thor convinces him he's haunted. When he sees how frightened his little brother actually is, Thor tries to make it right.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ghosts

Thor awoke suddenly but without any obvious cause. The boy frowned to himself as he lay in bed for a moment, wondering what had woken him. He was just starting to consider going back to sleep when it hit him: the room was completely silent except for his own breathing. 

“Loki?” Thor whispered across the dark room. There was no sound from the other bed. “ _Loki_!”

When his little brother still failed to answer, Thor got up and crossed the room. Just as he suspected, Loki’s bed was empty. It was even cold to the touch. Clearly, the younger prince had been missing for some time. 

With a quiet curse, Thor grabbed his robe and quickly went in search of his little brother. He was fairly certain he knew where Loki would be found. He was also certain that it was entirely his fault the younger boy was up so late. A few minutes later, Thor crept into the palace library and -just as he’d suspected- found Loki sitting under a table with a lantern and a large tome. 

Breathing a sigh of relief, Thor quietly approached his brother, who was still engrossed in his book. “Loki!” His harsh whisper caused the smaller boy to flinch and hit his head on the underside of the table. Thor flinched in sympathy when he heard the resounding _crack_. 

Loki clutched his sore head and glared at the older boy. Thor offered a sheepish smile. “Sorry?” He squatted down to look under the table. “Are you alright?”

Loki sighed. “Never mind that. We have a much bigger problem.” 

The boy removed one hand from his ravened head to point to the book lying before him. “You were right.” Loki spoke as though he were trying to be brave and mature, but was clearly fearing whatever doom he believed was upon them. “It _is_ ghosts.”

Thor sighed and nodded. Two days prior, his little brother had confided in him that he was waking up every night, chilled to the bone and frightened by an unknown cause. Loki also told Thor that when he told Odin he suspected he was ill or cursed, their father had asked his symptoms and then sternly told him to ignore it and never speak of it again. 

Loki tried that for a fortnight and the problem persisted, so he naturally turned to his big brother for help. 

Thor could not say exactly why he did it, only that it had seemed like fun at the time. Only a few days before, his friend Balder had retold a tale he heard from a traveling merchant; one of ghosts. The story had spoken of the unnatural chill one feels when a ghost is present and of their nocturnal natures. Thor had immediately passed an abridged version on to his frightened little brother, conveniently forgetting to mention that said merchant was known for his tall tales. 

“This book of monsters has an in-depth chapter on ghosts and it confirms everything you told me,” Loki was saying when Thor returned his attention to the other boy. “The cold, the way it always happens in the dead of night, the night terrors…it all fits. We have to warn mother.”

Thor, who had been nodding along with his brother’s words, suddenly sputtered. “Wait, we need to what?” 

“We cannot just leave her unaware whilst ghosts plague the palace.” Loki frowned. “Aren’t you the one who’s always longing for adventure? Well, here’s a foe you can practice on.” 

The younger boy turned back to his tome. “According to this book-”

“Wait, Loki, we cannot tell mother about this.” Thor was trying to think fast but this wasn’t like sparring with his friends. There, his muscles acted almost of their own accord. Unfortunately, his mind needed him to push it along. 

He knew that if Loki approached Frigga and informed her that there were ghost haunting the castle, it would only take their mother a few minutes to learn of the trick Thor had played on Loki. While Loki often got away with his own pranks and Thor rarely got into trouble for fighting or boasting, the opposite was never true. Thor couldn’t understand how that worked, but his lack of understanding would not save him from his mother’s wrath when she realized he had terrorized his little brother. 

“Why not?” Loki’s voice sounded small and he looked completely perplexed. At that moment, Thor felt awful for ever trying to frighten his little brother. Still, his genuine regret would not stop Frigga from banishing him from the sparring grounds for a fortnight or making him read some awful, longwinded legend to teach him a lesson. 

“Because…” Thor tried to think of something that would deter Loki but not give away the fact that he had been teasing him to begin with. As fearful as he was of their mother’s punishment, he was almost as afraid of his brother’s retribution. Loki’s mischief and magic generally amused or impressed Thor, but it could be a real bitch to be on the receiving end of one of his tricks. 

“Because she isn’t in any danger and it would only worry her,” Thor answered quickly. He tried to sound as sincere and fraternal as possible. As mistrustful as Loki normally was, he always gave his brother the benefit of the doubt. 

“How do you know mother isn’t in any danger?” Loki questioned, sounding genuinely curious. The boy was a natural scholar, which was something Thor would also never understand but he had no problem using it to his advantage at the moment. “What’s to stop the ghosts from haunting her as well?”

“Because, everyone knows ghosts prefer young, innocent victims. That’s why they’ve chosen you; you’re the youngest and most innocent in the palace.” Thor felt a twinge of guilt at the abject terror he could see building in his brother’s eyes. Even still, it was too late to back down. 

“Besides, they’ve already selected you as their victim and they rarely change targets on their own. Didn’t your book tell you that?” Thor added the last bit just to sound convincing. Until now, he had not even been aware that the library had books on ghosts. 

Loki -who looked paler than usual- frowned and touched his book with a slightly trembling hand. “It did mention that children are more susceptible to their influence and it did say something about them usually choosing one _location_ but…that isn’t the same as one _person_ …is it?”

“Of course it is,” Thor answered quickly. “You haven’t heard of anyone else in the palace having any trouble with ghosts, have you?” Loki shook his head and Thor gestured firmly. “There you have it; they’re only haunting you. That’s why father told you not to speak of it.”

Thor had no idea what his last comment had to do with anything, but Loki was better at word puzzles than he was. He had no doubt his little brother would make sense of it somehow. 

Sure enough, after a moment of thought, Loki turned frightened, questioning eyes on his big brother. “Because… Because they thrive off our energy, especially fear. The book says that. So…is that why they give me nightmares…and why father did not want me to tell anyone else?”

Thor gave Loki one of the proud smiles he gave him whenever he received highest marks on a test or managed a particularly complicated spell for his level of training. “Precisely.” Despite his obvious fear, the younger boy looked pleased that he had worked that part out for himself. Loki always preferred to learn things on his own. 

Thor placed a hand on Loki‘s shoulder. “But don’t worry, Brother. The ghosts don’t frightened a brave warrior such as myself. I’ll protect you.”

Ignoring the fact that Thor had only recently begun training with a sword, Loki asked the most pressing question at the moment. “How?”

“By waking you before the nightmares take hold, of course.” Thor spoke confidently in his usual boastful tone. “The ghost will hover around, naturally, but they’ll soon learn that the princes of Asgard are not such easy prey.”

Thor deflated slightly when he saw that Loki did not look very consoled. When the younger boy spoke, he was clearly trying to keep his voice level and free and anything that could be taken as an insult to Thor‘s abilities. The older boy was actually pleased that his brother knew him so well. “You had not noticed that I was having nightmares or waking in such cold before I told you. How would you wake me now?”

Thor knew he should have anticipated the question, but he really had no time to think ahead in the current conversation. “I er, well, you… You’ll just have to sleep in my bed once mother has bid us goodnight. Warriors are naturally light sleepers and you know I can‘t tolerate cold beddings. I‘ll wake at the first sign of movement or chill.” 

Loki thought that over for a moment. He looked at his brother warily, but there was also hope in his gaze. "Do you promise?"

Thor felt guilt creep up on him at the trust his little brother was placing in him. He answered solemnly, earnestly. "I promise."

Loki nodded. "Alright." He climbed out from under the desk, tome and lantern in tow. 

Thor took the book from Loki. "Where does this belong?" Their mother would ask questions if Loki was lugging it around and reading it would only add fuel to the younger prince's nightmares. 

He followed Loki to return the book to its rightful place. Then they blew out the lantern and crept back to their room. Loki went straight to Thor's bed and climbed right in. Thor followed suit. 

"Don't worry, brother," Thor whispered after they settled. He may have teased Loki before, but he did love him. He was going to protect him from his nightmares from now on. "I won't let anything harm you anymore."

Loki shifted over to place a kiss against Thor's cheek before settling down again. "Thank you, Thor. Goodnight."

Thor vowed then and there that he _would_ protect his little brother. From his nightmares, from the other children's teasing Loki didn't think Thor knew about, from any that tried to harm him. He hadn't been a very good brother before, he knew. But he would change that. He kissed the top of Loki's head. "Goodnight, Loki. Sleep well."

That night, they both did.


End file.
